Feadship unveils Superyacht concept Project Qi

Feadship Royal Dutch shipyards will offer a glimpse into the rarefied world of superyachts at the Dubai International Boat Show later this month (March 13-17). The luxury watercraft manufacturer's 56 meter (183.75 ft) Future Concept vessel Qi (say "chee") will be showcased (scale model only) along with a few of Feadship's real-world 70 meter-plus (229 ft+) multimillion dollar models, the 81 meter (266 ft) Air, and the 77.7 meter (252 ft) Tango. Built for a realm where just turning the engines on at the dock for ten minutes will set the owner back hundreds of dollars, these are designs that are sure to impress.

Named after the Asian concept for the life force that's presumed to surround and flow through all creation, the luxurious, yet-to-be-built Qi will, with a combination of main engine and diesel electric generators, have a top speed of 16 knots and a 5500 nautical mile maximum range (at 14 knots).

A team of designers and naval architects from Feadship collaborator De Voogt spent ten months on the project and brought numerous innovations to the mix. To boost fuel efficiency by eliminating drag, they gave Qi's wedge-shaped hull (11.4 m/37.5 ft at its widest) just one main propeller. Directly aft of that, they added a separately-powered, contra-rotating and orientable stern thruster capable of driving the ship at 12 knots in the event of main engine malfunction.

The combination of large interior spaces, including a gym/spa, movie theater, even a topside fire-pit in the jacuzzi, promises to make the Qi a party boat par excellence, but all that potential opulence will come with a substantial cash outlay. No price point was available, but a smaller Feadship yacht, the 44.65 m (146.5 ft) Helix, recently sold for around US$45 million, so the Qi is likely to go for an appreciably higher sum. If you have to ask the price, it's probably not the yacht for you. Given that the average superyacht owner only spends a handful of weeks on the water, but must maintain a full-time crew, it helps explain why fully 80 percent of such pricey craft end up as charters within four years of launch.

Check out the video below for a taste of what Feadship claims the Qi will offer: